N.A.R.T. Ferrari sells for $27.5 million, becomes most expensive Ferrari to sell at auction

Photos by Darin Schnabel, courtesy RM Auctions.

While it wasn’t enough to dethrone Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 as the most expensive car to sell at public auction, the $27.5 million sale price (including 10 percent buyer’s premium) of the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider at this weekend’s RM Monterey auction easily smashed its pre-auction estimates and toppled the record price paid for a Ferrari at public auction.

One of 10 N.A.R.T. Spiders built by Ferrari for the North American market, chassis number 10709 not only features a numbers-matching 300hp 3,286cc V-12/five-speed drivetrain, it also boasts single-family ownership from new. Eddie “George” Smith Sr., of Lexington, North Carolina, bought the Spider in March 1968 through Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti, and while he bought and sold a number of other Ferraris over the years, the Spider remained in his possession until his death in 2007, used frequently for jaunts to see the races at Sebring. Originally painted Azzurro Metallizzato, Smith repainted it red during a restoration in the 1980s, and Eddie Smith Jr. has preserved the Spider – along with every part removed during the restoration – since his father’s death.

Originally estimated to sell for $14 million to $17 million, the sale price of the N.A.R.T. Spider trumps that of the first-ever 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, which sold for $16.39 million (including premiums) at Gooding’s Pebble Beach auction in 2011, at the time a public auction record not only for Ferraris, but for all cars. The Fangio Mercedes-Benz W196 took the latter record earlier this year, when it sold for $29.65 million at the Bonhams Goodwood auction.

Other top sales at the RM Monterey auction include the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Torpedo Roadster that took Best of Show at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which sold for $8,250,000; a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider that competed in that year’s Mille Miglia, which sold for $3,520,000; the 1974 McLaren M16C that won the Indianapolis 500 that year, which sold for $3,520,000; a 1953 Maserati A6G/2000 Spyder, which sold for $2,530,000; a 1935 Hispano-Suiza K6 Cabriolet, which sold for $2,255,000; a 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage,’ which sold for $2,090,000; and a 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT, which sold for $2,060,000.

For a full list of results from the auction, visit RMAuctions.com.